Talk: Thoroughly Modern Crocker

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The ornate Victorian to undergo 125,000 sq-ft., $87 million makeover.

By Elspeth Cisneros
Photo by Corey Yeaton

Sacramento’s Crocker Art Museum is set to take on world class proportions with a much needed 125,000 sq. ft. expansion. “We only have 4 percent of our permanent collection on display,” says LeAnne Ruzzamenti, museum director of marketing communication. Project planners expect the new building to open in late 2009 or early 2010.  “With the expansion we will have about 12 percent on display, which is closer to the national average,” says Ruzzamenti.

With a courtyard between, the additional wing will lie to the west of the existing museum.

Slanted skylights will allow natural light into the area housing permanent collection pieces. A café, theater and expanded museum store are some of the basic features slated for the modernistic building. Work of Columbian artist Fernando Botero is to be the addition’s first exhibition. “Although the exact date of completion is not certain, the museum has been working on a flexible date for the exhibition,” says Ruzzamenti.

The ornate Victorian has served as the Crocker Art Museum since 1885 and, though beautiful, presents challenges as an exhibition space. “It is essential for Crocker to expand,” says Ruzzamenti. “We have no loading dock and no large elevator. We had an exhibit called “Dark Metropolis” that had very large pieces. We had to bring them in the front door at the same time that guests were coming in.”

The expansion project, costing roughly $87 million, will be funded entirely by private donors. Eighty percent of the funding has already been donated, says Ruzzamenti. “This will be the largest philanthropic project Sacramento has ever seen.”

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